All Manner of Pressing Issues

Hello! I’m still here. I’ve just not been a very good blogger.

So the last time you heard from me, I was at the beach with my mom in Florida. Our trip was fantastic. I’m having some technical difficulties right now accessing those pictures, but my in-house technology coordinator person is working on it. I’ll post pictures from that beach trip soon!

So, Richard and I were out of town for 10 days. We were on separate trips, but our trip ended together at my parents house. We got to spend a couple of days with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. It was a fun time together and an unexpected treat for us all to be together. Olivia got to be there for the fun, too.

When we left town, we left the house clean (clean sheets and all!), but for some reason I have not felt “caught up” since we’ve been back. The week has been a busy one somehow.

On Thursday a storm hit in our neighborhood and damaged several of our trees. Over the course of the past few days crews have been coming to work on the trees, removing several. It’s unfortunate, but two of the trees were Bradford Pears and were not strong enough to support their quick growth anymore.

Neither Richard or I had ever seen winds as strong as they were when the storm hit (73 mph). I have more pictures on my “regular” camera (these were taken from my phone, but quite honestly I’m too lazy to go get them. In the back yard, there were tons of limbs and branches on the ground, lots of leaves and several of our flower pots were blown over. No real damage though.

On Thursday, I started getting sick and went to the doctor Friday morning. She thought I just had a cold and sent me home with instructions to take Robitussin. I was frustrated and knew that wouldn’t cut it and I was right. I called her back this morning and got a
prescription. Yay. Hopefully I’ll feel better soon. Being sick when I am supposed to be on summer “vacation” is the pits.

I have tons of yard work I want to do and will get on that as soon as I feel better. Hopefully the meds will kick in and do their thing SOON!

I have been taking Olivia for a walk or to the dog park each morning. The last couple of mornings it’s been to the dog park because I’ve been too lazy to walk her!! Here are some recent pictures of our girl:

(Please ignore the state of the flower bed…we had just gotten back into town and I had not yet cleaned up the yard.)

Olivia has a route that she runs every time we let her out. Unfortunately, her route is straight through the back flower bed. The plants that are in her path are not too happy. One side of one of my Boston Ferns is nearly completely gone from her running past it. While we were all away for 10 days, some of the plants took the opportunity to recuperate from the usual beating.

3 hostas I had that were about 2 feet tall when I bought them have been mowed down to nothing thanks to Olivia. At least she’s not intentionally destroying anything. I will give her that much credit!

At least the plants in containers are happy!

Earlier in the week Richard was out of town on a business trip, so I decided to take myself for a walk on the national mall. The Lincoln Memorial is my favorite of all the memorials. I specifically love the view of it from the World War II Memorial. The World War II Memorial is most impressive at night, I think. I sat at the WWII Memorial for awhile and then walked down to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a really nice evening. We got a break in the heat this week. It was a nice walk and I enjoyed having some quiet time to myself (dog free even!). I couldn’t get a picture of it because it was so dark, but the baby ducks were huddled together sleeping on the side of the reflecting pool. Their parents protectively stood beside them.

So, Thursday afternoon when the storm came, our electricity went out. Our power came back on Saturday morning around 10:00. We were very thankful the temperatures were only in the upper 80s/low 90s outside since we had no air conditioning. Luckily this happened in the summer because the cold water isn’t too terribly cold in the summer for showers. We have a gas stove and a grill, so we cooked that way and played Skip-Bo by candlelight. It wasn’t so bad.

I was certainly glad the electricity came back on Saturday because I needed to be able to blow my hair out for a wedding we attended Saturday night! We had a great time at the wedding. 8 hours in 3.5 inch heels reminded me of what I have ahead of me with school starting!

So I guess this bring us fairly up-to-date. I’ll post Panama City Beach pictures as soon as I can.

My summer is winding down already somehow (our last day of school was June 25). I have several meetings for school to attend over the next few weeks (a week and a half’s worth actually) and then I’m “officially” back on the 30th. The students return the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Recently I have taken a few day trips. Two day trips to have been to Assateague Island. The first I took with a girlfriend and the second I took all by myself! The third was to Williamsburg.

Assateague is an absolutely beautiful beach. I love going to the beach and not looking at high rise hotels and condos. All I can see for miles and miles are sand dunes, sea grass and pristine beach.

Here are some pictures from the time I went with my girlfriend. I swore I wouldn’t post any swimsuit pictures. I am posting pictures of the amazing wild horses we saw! They are certainly not afraid of people. They rooted around in several beach bags looking for snacks. Unfortunately, they uncovered a bag of goldfish crackers, but after that people started closing their bags, baskets, etc. It’s very unhealthy for the horses to eat people food, but since they are wild animals, once they have the food it is unsafe to take it from them. Anyway–my friend and I had a WONDERFUL time. We read, talked, walked and even played in the water. The waves were big and strong that day, so there was lots of laughter as we got splashed and knocked down in the water. Lots of fun and a day we’ll definitely have to repeat soon! Oh and on the way home we went to a SONIC for drinks. It was heavenly. I hadn’t seen a Sonic since I went home for Christmas. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that my friend and I also saw two horses fighting. They were both reared up on their hind legs going at each other with their mouths and front hooves. Quite interesting. She has the pictures of that on her camera, but maybe I can share those soon.

Richard has been gone all week on a business trip, so Olivia and I have been holding down the fort. I’ve done a little organizing and the normal cleaning, laundry and yard work. I feel like I’ve been relatively busy, but yet it doesn’t seem like a lot has gotten accomplished.

Tuesday I drove to Williamsburg to see my parents. I talk to them frequently, but nothing compares to getting to spend face-to-face time with them and getting to hug their necks! I will definitely have to get Richard to take me back to Williamsburg. It’s obviously historical (which will be the draw for him), but there are also many cute little boutiques there.

Yesterday I got the house in order, laundry done, sheets changed, etc. I decided since all of the necessities were taken care of that I’d head to the beach today! This morning I got up and packed the car with my basket, an umbrella and a beach chair and dropped Olivia off at daycare and off I went! I enjoyed a quiet day all to myself. I walked a lot, read some, didn’t pick up a single seashell (believe it or not), got in the water some and worked a few sodoku puzzles. Otherwise I just sat and watched and listened to the ocean. If you look carefully at the picture of the sand, you can see little birdie footprints. I love to watch children and birds at the beach!

We left Boston Wednesday and drove to Cape Cod. We stayed at an amazing bed and breakfast called Lion and Lamb Inn. The innkeepers are delightful and everything about the inn is wonderful. We’re already trying to decide when to go back. Our room was charming and it opened onto the courtyard. The pool and hot tub are in the courtyard. We didn’t get in the pool (too cool at night), but we did make good use of the hot tub. The innkeepers have darling dogs who tried to help us cope with Olivia’s absence. I cannot wait to go back!

So when we got to the inn, we checked in and Tom showed us around and gave us some information about things to do, places to go etc. In each room they have placed a very helpful binder of information about the area and he also gave us “driving tour” information. After we got settled into our room, I, of course, was ready to go! I wanted to get on the water! We walked about 1/2 a mile to Scudder’s Lane.

We then walked back to the inn and got our car and drove to Mattakeese Wharf to eat. Our food was very good and we had a window table with a waterfront view. Can’t beat good food served on a table with a view!

I talked Richard into going down to the water with me and watching the sunset. It didn’t take much. It was a beautiful evening (I was actually quite chilly). While we were on the beach we met a lady with a Cairn Terrier named Mu. The lady and the dog were both extra sweet. She told us about Mu enjoying preschool cartoons. We tried it last night while we were gone to the fireworks display and it worked like a charm! We really enjoyed sitting in the sand watching the sunset. It was just heavenly.

Then we made our way back to the inn where we took advantage of the hot tub. We met another couple there. The wife is a vet, so we got to hear some interesting animal stories. They have chickens, goats, several dogs and highland cattle. I am sure I left something out. They were fun to chat with.

The next day (Thursday) we got up and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast at the inn. Our first stop on this day was Hyannis where we saw one of the Kennedy’s houses. Hyannis is a wonderfully quaint little town.

Then we took the “driving tour”. The “driving tour” Tom (one of the innkeepers) gave us was simply two pages of information about things do or stop and see and places to eat on the way while driving from Barnstable to Provincetown.

We stopped at a few shops, including a great kitchen shop and an old general store. We also stopped at the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor’s center and several National Seashore beaches (Nauset Light Beach, Race Point Beach and Herring Cove Beach). We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Land Ho! where we enjoyed fried oysters and shrimp. We drove all the way to Provincetown and then turned around and went back to Barnstable.

After sight-seeing tour, we enjoyed a quiet dinner at The Dolphin in Barnstable. We went back to Scudder’s Lane to watch the sunset.

I finally have the pictures from our trip organized and ready to share! I am going to write about each day, but please feel free just to look at the pictures and move on with your day. I realize it’s probably more information that anyone needs or wants, but I wanted to remember our trip. We had an absolutely wonderful time and we’re already looking forward to the next time we get to go to Boston and/or Cape Cod!

We left for Boston on June 25. I got out of school at 4:00. Several parents gave me BEAUTIFUL bouquets of flowers on the last day of school, so since we were going out of town, I passed those out to businesses we frequent and our neighbors. Then, I picked Olivia up from our house and dropped her off at daycare where she was boarded for the week. As soon as I got home, Richard called a cab and we were on our way to the airport! We grabbed a bite to eat at the airport and then were on our way to Boston.

We arrived in Boston around 9:00 I think. Our cab driver from the airport to our hotel was very nice. He told us lots of interesting things about Boston on our way to the hotel. I felt like we had our own tour guide. We stayed at the Hilton Back Bay. Our room was on the 25th floor and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the Boston brownstones, the Charles River and to the left Fenway Park.

Saturday Richard had several meetings to attend. We squeezed in lunch at P.F. Changs between his meetings. I realize it’s a chain and we normally do not eat at chain restaurants, but we both love P.F. Changs and had not eaten at one in a very long time. It was delicious as expected. Interestingly enough, our server’s mother was born in Arkansas. On a side-note. Our accents are always a conversation starter–sometimes we just tell people we live in DC and let them wonder. Other times we say we live in DC, but the accent is from AR. Sometimes the accent thing can get annoying because when I am ordering people get so wrapped up in my accent that they aren’t listening to me (or maybe can’t understand me?) and get my order wrong. This generally happens at coffee shops.

Anyway… on to the rest of Saturday.

Before lunch while Richard was in some of his meetings, I went to the Prudential Center. I am really not much of a shopper, but I couldn’t stand to just sit in the hotel room. I felt like that was sort of a waste, so I got up and got out. I went to Starbucks for breakfast and then walked around for a bit. I bought some artwork and went to a candy store and bought Jelly Bellies. I love going to candy shops and choosing my own Jelly Belly flavors.

I really need to stay focused here. I keep digressing!

So after I shopped and Richard went to meetings, we grabbed lunch at P.F. Changs. Over lunch, I talked Richard into taking a trolley tour with me. I love, love, love trolley tours. So, we got our tickets and boarded the trolley. On Saturday we got off the trolley at Paul Revere’s house, Old North Church and the Old State House. The Old North Church is where the ‘one if by land, two if by sea’ lanterns were hung. The balcony you see in the picture on the Old State House is the balcony from which the Declaration of Independence was first read in Boston.

After our short sight-seeing stint, we went to dinner at Summer Shack. Richard had lobster and I had crab legs (after an appetizer of mussels).

After dinner we went to the Prudential Building and went to the Sky Walk. We stayed there until it got dark so we could watch the sunset and see the city at night.

Then we went to the Cheesecake Factory by our hotel and got cheesecake to go. We went to a fountain nearby to enjoy our cheesecake. Afterward we called it a night!

Sunday was a busy day. I didn’t realize how much we did this day until I was compiling pictures. Our trolley passes were two-day passes. We started the day on Beacon Hill and walked over to a few historic burial grounds. There were saw where Sam Adams, Paul Revere, Mother Goose and several others are buried.

After we did this, we grabbed a bite to eat at Upper Crust. The pizza was tasty and the fountain Diet Coke hit the spot. Isn’t their delivery bike cute?

After we ate, we went into several shops on Charles Street. We really enjoyed that. Many of the shops we went into reminded me of a shop I worked at during the summers during college. However, my favorite shop we visited is the place where Julia Child bought groceries. It was a neat shop–even Richard liked it. Can you believe the two little doggies waiting for their owner? Dogs sitting outside a shop isn’t so interesting, but the fun part to us is that the white dog is a Westie (same as Olivia) and the brown dog is a Yorkie (same as Richard’s parents’ dogs, Ellie and Lucy).

Our next stop was a Boston Harbor Tour. I love being on the water, so this was extra fun for me! While we were on our tour, our boat (and all others) had to pull to the side and stop because a huge ship carrying natural gas was entering the harbor.

From here we visited Faneuil Hall and Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Quincy Market). There were some neat places to shop here, but the highlight for us was the guy doing street theater. He was talented and HYSTERICAL.

After this we meandered over to Newbury Street via Commonwealth Avenue. We stopped in an interesting wine cellar and then after much deliberation decided to eat at Bottega Fiorentina. We had delicious sandwiches. Across the street just happened to be a used book store. We had to stop in. I bought two books for my classroom library: Piggies by Audrey Wood and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (my students literally wore my other copy of this one out). Richard got several books, too. We walked a little farther and then stopped in for an espresso drink–can’t remember the name of the place. Then, we called it a night!

Monday morning we got up bright and early and rode the subway and then a bus to the Kennedy Library. So far we have visited the Clinton, Nixon, Reagan and Kenndy
libraries (I have also been to Johnson’s library but was young and do not
remember it). Kennedy’s did not impress me as much as I thought it would. It
enjoyed it, but I guess I had higher expectations. Richard really enjoyed it.

We got through the library and got back to the hotel so Richard could go to his meetings. While he was meeting, I helped myself to the pool and sundeck at our hotel. Monday night we stopped in at a doggie boutique on Newbury Street called Pawsh. We bought Olivia’s summer collar there. From there we went to Casa Romero.

After we successfully stuffed ourselves on the best Mexican food we’ve eaten since we left Arkansas, we went to J.P. Licks to enjoy some ice cream. I had strawberry-rhubarb and Richard had Oreo. That was that for Monday.

Tuesday morning Richard was gone to meetings early. I was on my own. It was tempting to sleep in and hang around the hotel, but I thought I should get out and enjoy the city while we were there. So, I did just that. I went over to the Prudential Center for breakfast (diet coke and lemon
poppy seed muffin) and I went into Barnes and Noble for a few minutes, too. Then I headed over to Newbury Street. I went into a couple of shops and then went into a shop called Firefly. After dropping a few bucks in this shop, I decided I better head back to the hotel before I spent any more money. So, I put on my swimsuit and once again headed to the sundeck and pool.

Later in the afternoon I came back inside for lunch and to get ready in time to go to the Ringo Starr concert that evening. When Richard returned from his meetings, we left the hotel and took the subway over to where the concert was. We ate at a restaurant called No Name Restaurant. We do not recommend it.

However, we do recommend the Ringo Starr concert! Richard is better at sharing concert details, but long story short–it was fun!

The concert was held at an outdoor venue right on the water. The weather was perfect.

Wednesday was our last day in Boston. Richard had meetings that morning, but I did not! I went over to Newbury Street and had breakfast at Espresso Royale Cafe. I had an iced coffee and a cranberry-orange scone. I sat outside on their basement patio and enjoyed a view of the brownstones through a few trees. It was a great start to my day.

After I got some caffeine in my system, I headed back to the hotel and packed our suitcases so we could be on our way when Richard got out of his meetings.

We checked out of the hotel and headed over to see Harvard. I think it is difficult to really see what we think of as “Harvard” if you don’t park and walk. We did get to see Harvard Square and the football stadium. I did take a picture of this ivy though:

Next we were off to Cape Cod. First we stopped for lunch at a place a coworker wanted Richard to try. It is a chain barbeque restaurant. We wanted to give it a try although we were both a little leary of bbq in Boston and at a chain, but we tried it. It was just okay.

That concludes the Boston portion of our trip! It was wonderful. Boston is a beautiful city. I love the brownstones and being on the water. The weather is glorious which I figured out as soon as we stepped out of the airport. One more thing I should note is that everyone was very friendly there. I am beginning to wonder why I’ve heard so many people say that people from the north are unfriendly.

We loved our time in Boston and can’t wait to go back!

Coming up next: Cape Cod post!

The original plan was to leave at 7:00 a.m. Then, we realized we couldn’t take Olivia to daycare until 8:00. Of course, we weren’t ready until 8:15 and had to come back to the house twice (once because we forgot bug spray and the second time because I forgot my sunglasses). We got Olivia dropped off and by the time we hit the road, it was about 8:45. I hadn’t made the effort to cook breakfast or really even make anything available at home, so we stopped along the way. We tried to go to Panera,
but the line was super long, so we went to the Starbucks across the street.
With espresso and some breakfast in hand, we were on our way again. We
stopped one more time for gas. We made a few wrong turns, but they didn’t cost us much time. I think we got to the beach around noon.

As you can see from the pictures, it is absolutely beautiful. The Maryland side (where we were) is a state park and the Virginia is a national park, so the island is completely undeveloped. The sand dunes are so pretty and the beach just goes on for miles and miles and miles. There
were plenty of seashells for me to collect. Richard got to see a horse! I
didn’t see one. He saw it when he went back up to the concession/restroom
area. I did see many crabs and birds though.

When we got there, we walked down the beach a littleways to set up camp. Then, we ate a little bit and I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to go for a walk to collect seashells. Off I went while Richard attempted to read the NY Times at the windy beach. I collected a lot of seashells and even ran across a piece of drift wood I thought needed a happy home. After my walk, I came back and took a nap. Then I talked Richard into going for a walk with me. I collected more seashells then. I enlisted his help carrying them. Other than walking on the beach, I literally did nothing the whole day. I just sat in my chair and enjoyed the water, breeze and sounds. It was heavenly. As I sat in my classroom today drowning in children and paperwork, it was hard to believe I was at the beach less than 24 hours before.

Around 6:00, I decided we better head back. I knew I needed to get up to run this morning and that I needed to get decent night’s sleep to be able to run and be on my toes with my first graders today. So, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Assateague Crab House (yum) and then headed home (but not before we checked out the beach shack store next door). We made it home in 2 1/2 hours without any stops. I told Richard he needs to be prepared for me to be at the beach quite a bit this summer.

We had a great time and I’m already scheming how I can talk Richard into trip #2.